Chapter 69: Doesn’t Secretary Su Also Count as Half a Sister-in-Law?
“I don’t like coffee.”
Shen Xingyu pushed the cup away, his gaze fixed on Jiang Chuzhou. His patience was nearly exhausted.
“Drink it! How do you know you don’t like it if you don’t try? What if you like it and fall in love with coffee from now on!”
Jiang Chuzhou seemed to automatically ignore the coldness in his eyes, persistently waving the coffee in front of him.
“No.”
Shen Xingyu emphasized his tone.
“If you don’t drink it, I won’t listen to what you have to say!”
Jiang Chuzhou slammed the coffee on the table, crossed his arms, and turned his head away arrogantly, ignoring him.
“You…”
Shen Xingyu was stymied. For the sake of his urgent business, he could only suppress his temper and grit his teeth in compromise: “I’ll drink it.”
With that, he picked up the coffee. Smelling the thick, bitter scent, he recoiled slightly. But with Jiang Chuzhou staring at him expectantly, he steeled himself and took a sip.
As soon as it entered his mouth, the intense bitterness made Shen Xingyu cough. His brow furrowed tightly as he pressed his fist to his mouth and forced it down.
Jiang Chuzhou clapped gleefully:
“Hahahaha! Bitter as hell, right?!”
“Cough cough! Jiang Chuzhou, that’s enough…!”
Shen Xingyu’s voice was hoarse. He easily felt nauseous when eating or drinking something bitter. He hurriedly drank all the warm water in his glass to barely suppress the taste.
“Oh, are you and Bodyguard Qin the ‘Enough’ duo? Both of you keep telling me ‘that’s enough, that’s enough.’ Well, I won’t!”
Jiang Chuzhou had a cheeky face and even stuck his tongue out at him.
Shen Xingyu caught his breath. Hearing those words, he immediately understood that this playboy young master must have provoked Qin Lou quite a bit. He warned him with a cold stare: “Stop pestering my people.”
“Brother Yu, you’re no fun at all!”
Jiang Chuzhou slammed the table in anger, then suddenly thought of something. He gave a cunning smile and rubbed his hands together excitedly:
“How about I ask you for a favor? Why don’t you give Qin Lou to me? I just happen to need a bodyguard. Since you, Brother Yu, don’t lack for anything, a mere bodyguard surely shouldn’t be an issue, right?”
Shen Xingyu refused without hesitation: “It’s impossible to give Qin Lou to you. Uncle Jiang doesn’t seem like he lacks for bodyguards either.”
“Fine, if you won’t give him, you won’t! Stingy!”
Jiang Chuzhou grumbled, “My dad won’t give me a bodyguard. He’s afraid I’ll use one to cause trouble.”
“Alright, stop talking about bodyguards. I asked you here today because I need your help with something important.”
Shen Xingyu suddenly became serious.
“What is it? What could the great President Shen have that’s so troublesome he needs a little rookie like me to help?”
Jiang Chuzhou leaned halfway across the table, looking at him with interest. Usually, Shen Xingyu ignored him; he could actually swallow his pride today? It seemed this matter wasn’t simple!
“Ahem.”
Shen Xingyu cleared his throat strategically. When he spoke of Liang Sheng, there was a light in his eyes:
“Day after tomorrow is your sister-in-law’s birthday. I don’t know what to give him. I don’t have any friends here, so I can only ask you.”
“Oh ho, did I hear that right? Which sister-in-law?”
Jiang Chuzhou scratched his ear, his smile looking very punchable.
“Liang Sheng! Who else?”
Shen Xingyu said irritably.
“What about that… what’s-his-name…”
Jiang Chuzhou licked his canine tooth and thought for a long while before slamming the table in excitement: “Secretary Su! Doesn’t Secretary Su also count as half a sister-in-law? Your half-mother-in-law even recognizes you as half a son-in-law!”
“Don’t mention him to me.”
Shen Xingyu’s face darkened.
“What’s up? Did you break up?”
Jiang Chuzhou picked up a piece of watermelon from the table and began to munch on it.
“I’m talking to you about Shengsheng’s business.”
Shen Xingyu didn’t want to talk about nonsense with him.
“Oh, okay, okay. Shengsheng’s business, Shengsheng’s business.”
Jiang Chuzhou intentionally drawled his words. Even as someone who was usually shameless, he felt goosebumps. He inwardly thought that hearing “Shengsheng” from Shen Xingyu’s mouth was truly hair-raising.
“Call him Sister-in-law.”
“Sister-in-law, Sister-in-law!”
Jiang Chuzhou shouted obediently. He rubbed his chin and took a rare moment to think seriously. In less than two seconds, he couldn’t help but be snarky again:
“Sister-in-law’s birthday… then you have to make it a big event! It’s a rare moment of you discovering your conscience. After Sister-in-law has loved you so bitterly—even with a mistress brought into the house, he still chose to stay with you—you must hold a grand banquet to celebrate! Let the whole city know how lucky it is to be the Young Madam of the Shen family!”
“Can you stop talking nonsense? I’m talking about a gift.”
Shen Xingyu grew impatient.
“What’s the rush? If you let me have Qin Lou as my bodyguard, I’ll tell you what gift to give.” Jiang Chuzhou was still being mysterious.
He had finally caught an opportunity to get Qin Lou; he had to make good use of it.
“Goodbye.”
Shen Xingyu dropped those two words and got up to leave.
“Wait, you’re really leaving?!”
Seeing that he didn’t look back, Jiang Chuzhou hurriedly chased after him and grabbed his arm, piteously playing the victim:
“Don’t go! I don’t have money to pay! Waaaah, my bank cards were all frozen by that old man. I’m penniless right now. Don’t abandon me! If my dad finds out I ate a meal without paying, he’ll leave me here to wash dishes for months!”
“The gift.”
Shen Xingyu gave him a cold look.
“Alright, alright, alright. I’ll take you to buy it!”
Jewelry Store.
“Welcome. May I ask if the two of you are looking for jewelry for yourselves, or are you looking for a gift?”
Jiang Chuzhou sat in a chair with his legs crossed, leaning his elbow on the counter. He pointed to the man beside him: “This gentleman wants to buy his wife a birthday gift. Bring out your most expensive and best jewelry.”
The manager, seeing a big order coming, hurried to inform the store owner.
The owner had sharp eyes and immediately recognized the young master of the Shen family and the little master of the Jiang family. He couldn’t stop smiling:
“Oh, it’s President Shen and Young Master Jiang! Your presence in our store is an honor! Someone! Serve fine tea to President Shen and Young Master Jiang!!”
Jiang Chuzhou came here often. While drinking tea, he chatted warmly with the owner.
Shen Xingyu had no heart to deal with the owner’s attempts to strike up a conversation. He lowered his head and looked at the jewelry in the window on his own.
The jewelry was sparkling and bright, quite dazzling.
He personally never wore any jewelry; all he had was a watch to tell the time. Naturally, he looked down on these things that were more for show than use.
“President Shen, look at this necklace, ‘The Romantic Prologue.’ It’s created specifically for love. Wearing it will not only highlight the wearer’s elegant temperament but also let your wife feel your deep love for him (her)!”
Shen Xingyu was clearly not interested. He turned to look at other jewelry. No matter how he looked at it, he felt none of it suited Liang Sheng.
“If you don’t like necklaces, we also have bracelets, watches, rings, earrings…”
“Let’s go.”
Shen Xingyu didn’t listen to him finish and turned to leave.
“What’s wrong? You don’t like it?”
Jiang Chuzhou got up and chased after him.
“It’s too tacky. Also, I’ve never seen Shengsheng wear any jewelry. He probably wouldn’t like it.”
Jiang Chuzhou rolled his eyes. He guessed this guy had probably never bought his wife any jewelry, right? And he had the nerve to say the person didn’t wear it—how could he wear it without any jewelry?!
Although he was grumbling and cursing Shen Xingyu in his heart, he still maintained a smiling face to please him:
“It’s fine. Next one.”
Cosmetics Store.
“No. What if he becomes too good-looking and runs off with someone else?”
Shen Xingyu spoke with a completely serious face. Especially thinking of how Liang Sheng had applied light makeup before the gala and looked too good—it gave him a sense of crisis.
“Huh? You…”
Jiang Chuzhou’s jaw dropped.
“Next one.”
Miniso.
“Too childish. Next one.”
Shen Xingyu turned around as soon as he stepped in.
Jiang Chuzhou: “…”
Clothing Store.
“Clothes at home are all custom-made. Things outside aren’t safe.”
“You’re truly high-and-mighty.”
Snack Store.
“His stomach isn’t good. He can’t eat this.”
“I can eat! Buy it for me!”
E-sports City.
“He doesn’t know how to use electronic products. Also, we can’t buy them. What if he uses them to contact all sorts of messy people?”
“What kind of logic is that? You’re crazy, aren’t you?”
After visiting many stores in a row, Shen Xingyu was still unsatisfied. No matter how he looked at things, none met his internal requirements.
The sky grew dark.
Streetlights turned on one by one.
Jiang Chuzhou was out of breath. He had never been this tired. Even hiding from his dad wasn’t this exhausting!
He leaned against the wall, panting. “No… Brother… what… what exactly do you want?”
“If I knew what I wanted, I wouldn’t have come to ask you.”
Shen Xingyu looked depressed.
Hearing this, Jiang Chuzhou instantly exploded: “I recommended things to you and you didn’t want any of them! You motherf*cker!”
“What should I do?”
“You actually have the nerve to ask me?!”
Jiang Chuzhou glared at him fiercely. He really wanted to give him a piece of his mind, but he managed to hold back.
No. Be civilized. Don’t curse…
He stroked his chest to comfort himself.
“Why are you throwing a tantrum?”
Shen Xingyu was confused by the scolding. Wasn’t he just thinking deeply about giving Liang Sheng the best?
“Alright, enough… I’m tired. Please, Master Shen. If I have committed a crime, let the law punish me, not you… coming here to torture me!”
Jiang Chuzhou clasped his hands together, wanting to cry but having no tears.
“Is it that serious?”
Shen Xingyu frowned in confusion.
He’s this tired just from walking a bit? He was so confident at the start about buying the best gift, and now he’s practically flat on the ground…
Jiang Chuzhou scrambled up tremblingly. He held up his index finger with a tragic face and accused him weakly:
“Do you know how I’ve spent this day? I accompanied you… and ran all over Nanshi! My feet are practically smoking! Everything I ate this morning has been turned into farts and released!”
Shen Xingyu was speechless.
“I’m not playing with you anymore. I’m starving to death!”
Jiang Chuzhou glared at him in a huff. He planned to find something to eat first to tide him over. After taking two steps, he turned back. Without a word, he pulled a gold card from the man’s jacket pocket and waved it in front of him:
“This card will be the payment for today! Goodbye!”
With that, he turned and corrected himself viciously:
“No! I never want to see you again!”
“Hey!”
Shen Xingyu still wanted to call him back to continue helping him pick a gift, but the other party hopped on his motorcycle and was already long gone.
The exhaust fumes made him cough twice. It seemed he had to rely on himself. He shouldn’t have expected this slovenly Jiang Chuzhou to give him any good ideas.
He had been busy all day and hadn’t picked out anything.
Ask Liang Sheng?
No, no. How could he speak about such a thing?
Besides, Liang Sheng had a grudge against him right now. He probably wouldn’t want to deal with him anyway. It was best not to go and lose face.
Shen Xingyu walked aimlessly.
He passed by a store. The warm yellow light shining out softened his sharp edges. He looked up. Through the window, he saw a music box on the counter with a Little Prince and a rose embedded in it.
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